What does a certification of trust disclose?
Key takeaway
A certification of trust discloses selected facts about a trust and the authority of its trustee. For an owner using a trust in a business or property transaction, it can provide information about the trust's existence, identity, and trustee powers. The information may help a third party verify the trust without seeing beneficiary or distribution details, while jurisdiction-specific rules affect what the certification contains and what a recipient may request.
Information a certification may contain
A certification may state that a trust exists, give its date, identify the settlor and trustee, and describe the trustee's powers. The Uniform Trust Code describes these as relevant information in a certification authenticated by a trustee.
Practitioners describe certifications that give the trust name and date, identify the current trustee, and state that the trust is valid and has not been revoked. Practitioners also describe a trust certificate as a way for a third party to verify the trust without receiving beneficiary identities or distribution details.
The details disclosed depend on the certification and the applicable jurisdiction.
Dispositive terms and transaction powers
Colorado's cited provision says a certification need not include the trust's dispositive terms. A recipient may require excerpts that identify the trustee and confer power for the pending transaction.
A transaction involving business or property may make the trustee's authority relevant to the information requested. The Colorado provision addresses excerpts designating the trustee and conferring power for that pending transaction, while the Uniform Trust Code describes trustee powers as information that may appear in a certification.
The Colorado provision distinguishes the trust's dispositive terms from excerpts identifying a trustee's authority for a pending transaction.
State rules address reliance and alternatives
The Colorado provision separately addresses omitted dispositive terms and excerpts for a pending transaction.
Utah's cited code says a person relying on a certification without knowing it is incorrect may assume its facts without inquiry. The provision also addresses a demand for the full trust instrument beyond a certification or excerpts. If that demand was not in good faith, the person making it is liable for costs, fees, and damages.
The Uniform Trust Code supplies the general description of information that a certification may contain, while the state-specific provisions address substitution for the trust instrument, transaction excerpts, reliance, and demands for the full instrument.